More Velocette engine cases, oil pumps, side stands and tail lights

After digging into MSS cases we found  a previous mechanic had used  a sheet cork gasket between the case joint in place of sealant. A bit of back history on this engine;  it had sad in a basement for about 26 years.  The piston had been removed (rag on connecting rod and the barrel was well worn out.

 Generally it seems that the joint would only need some type of liquid sealant like Wellseal or Yamabond. Due to the main bearings being taper rollers setup the preload clearance is somewhat critical ( 0.002 in ?).  A cork gasket would be difficult at best for setting up the preload needed as it could compress.  A couple of theories come to mind as to why they chose this route;  they could have used the cork to be both a seal and the gap for preload, or possibly  the cases had been machined for either gouges or warpage. 

 I've added detail pictures of both case halves milled marks. Whether these mill marks are from Veloce I'm not certain.  Time will tell, though it seems that when both cases are put together without bolts that there is a slight gap across the very bottom. Next step will be to heat it up and knock out the race to do a more proper measurement of the preload and case gaps.

NOTE: To magnify the pictures, right click mouse over the picture and select 'open link in new tab' a new window will open and allow you to view the original picture in high magnification. 

 While on the subject of putting pretty pictures onto the blog, I thought to put two Veloce oil pumps side by side.  In the four pictures, the taller oil pump has been removed from MSS10675.  The other oil pump was removed from the scrambler engine.  Ed G. did the reassembly of scrambler engine for me, which he noted that the oil pump was not quite right; that it had been replaced with an alloy MAC pump.  The Alloy pump is shorter than the MSS case pump. The shorter pump would have a different drilling for oil passages and would have cut the flow of oil down. You can see in the pictures that the lower oil pump hole on the right side pump has significant etching where the case sat. Just a thing to keep an eye on when swapping old parts on your Velos, cases and pumps can vary.

In the spring I had some intentions towards riding the scrambler on the street for a spell.  This hasn't worked out yet, I still need to fabricate a battery tray to reside on the right side engine plate. The tail lamp/ plate carrier assembly is detachable by using the rear most number plate bolt. 

Another addition of convenience was a side stand. This took a bit longer to work out. Eventually this old WEW clamp on stand fit the bill. It has a pleasant solid clank when swung into its riding position. A very tight up out of the way install, doesn't look to interfere with any ground clearance. The skid plate need to be relieved for the lower clamp bolt and body.